California Street Cable Car 53 was built in 1907 by W.L. Holman Co. of San Francisco, which supplied most of the replacement fleet for the California Street Cable Railroad Co. after the 1906 earthquake and fire, and which five years later built the first ten streetcars for the new Municipal Railway (Muni).
California Street Cable Car 54 was built in 1907 by J. Hammond & Co. of San Francisco, which supplied the innovative 1890 double-end fleet for the California Street Cable Railroad Co. and many of the replacement cars after the 1906 earthquake and fire. It is the last largely original Hammond car in the fleet (Car 55 was originally built by Hammond but was almost totally rebuilt by Muni in 2023.) Car 54 received a less intensive rebuilding by Muni during the cable car rehabilitation project of 1982-84.
This cable car wears a livery that’s both familiar to San Franciscans and unique at the same time – at least for a double-ended California Street cable car.
California Street Cable Car 56 was built in-house in 1913 by the California Street Cable Railroad Co. It was rebuilt in 1984 and again in 2018 by Muni’s Cable Car Carpentry Shop.
California Street Cable Car 57 was built in-house in 1914 by the California Street Cable Railroad Co. It ran on the O’Farrell, Jones & Hyde line until that line closed in 1954, then moved over to the California Street line in 1957, where it has operated since. It was rebuilt by Muni in 2018.
California Street Cable Car 58 was built in-house in 1914 by the California Street Cable Railroad Co. It ran on the O’Farrell, Jones & Hyde line until that line closed in 1954, and was the last cable car to run on the five-block Jones Street shuttle between Market and O’Farrell Streets. Car 58 moved over to the California Street line in 1957, where it has operated since.
California Street Cable Car 59 was built by Muni’s Cable Car Carpentry Shop in 2018. It replaced a cable car built in 1907, which had been retired and then traded to the City of New Orleans in exchange for a St. Charles streetcar used on the F-line.
California Street Cable Car 60 was built new by Muni’s Cable Car Carpentry Shop in 2003. It replaced a cable car built in 1907 by J. Hammond & Co. for the California Street line, where it was numbered 16 until 1957. Muni rebuilt the first Car 60 in 1969, but determined it was no longer roadworthy, and put it in storage where it remains today.
Yesterday, the SFMTA Board of Directors voted on a range of measures to begin close the year end deficit currently figured to be $12.1 million. The meeting ran over and will be continued until Tuesday, but some decisions were made on Friday including a 10% cut in Muni service. Unlike the changes made in December, no routes or segments of routes will be eliminated as happened with Decembers cuts and there will be no new or increased service to offset the cuts.
